2011's Stock Winners Tank in 2012

Last year's stock-market goats are this year's heroes, and vice versa. But investors betting that the reversal will persist should tread carefully, analysts say. While 2011 was tumultuous, this year has been eerily calm. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index, or VIX, has dropped about 20% this year, to 18, the lowest level since July.

The change has been particularly painful for investors who sought comfort in the market's safest stocks. Dividend payers have gone nowhere this year, while companies that don't pay dividends have jumped 9.5%. After gaining 15% in 2011, the steady stocks that make up the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index have dropped 0.5% this year, trailing their riskier counterparts in the S&P High Beta Index by more than 12 percentage points.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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